EXCLUSIVE James DeGale willing to fight Gennady Golovkin at super-middleweight

IBF world super-middleweight champion James DeGale would be happy to fight unified middleweight boss Gennady Golovkin if the Kazakh moves up in weight.

DeGale, who rules the roost at 168lbs, recently defended his title against the tougher-than-expected Rogelio ‘Porky’ Medina in Washington.

Golovkin’s trainer, Abel Sanchez, previously stated his charge is likely to move to super-middleweight at some stage, but 2008 Olympic champion DeGale refuted Sanchez’s claim that ‘GGG’ would beat everyone in the division.

“Golovkin, if you look at his wins, there’s no one there I wouldn’t beat. There are no elite fighters there. He hasn’t fought the Cottos, the Canelos of this world. He hasn’t really boxed anyone,” he told Boxing News.

“He’s a very, very good fighter. I remember as an amateur he was very good then as well [Golovkin won silver at the 2004 Olympic Games], but he hasn’t boxed anyone yet. I swear to God, I’m willing to fight him.”

To date, Golovkin’s best wins are over the likes of David Lemieux and Martin Murray, though the WBA, IBF and WBC ruler is viewed by most as the best at 160.

His lack of a marquee opponent is not due to a lack of trying, as ‘GGG’ has actively pursued the best around. He was last out in April when he swatted aside mandatory challenger Dominic Wade in two rounds.

“I won’t be one of these fighters who are beaten before they get in the ring, because a lot of them are. They take a shot, they fall on the ground, and they look for a way out,” DeGale continued.

“It’ll be interesting if he comes up. He’s not a massive middleweight anyway. He’s not boxed anyone with a style like mine, either.”

Any potential fight between DeGale and Golokvin would not happen right away however as DeGale is set for a unification clash with WBC super-middleweight champion Badou Jack in September.

DeGale is eager to have that fight take place in London, his home city, though feels at this stage it is more likely to happen in America, where Swedish-born Jack is based.

“If I’m being honest, I don’t think it’ll be over here [in the UK], just based on what I’m hearing so far,” he revealed.

“Hopefully it can be over here, but I haven’t got 100% confidence it will be. I don’t mind going to America. It’s a pretty big fight, so I’m sure Al [Haymon, his adviser] will put on a big show for it.”

Jack retained his title after drawing with former DeGale victim Lucian Bute on the same show James fought Medina on, however Bute failed a post-fight drug test.

DeGale, who is currently ticking over in the gym and hopes to box in December after facing Jack, feels stringent testing around a fight is a necessity.

“Performance enhancing drugs are a big problem in our sport, I didn’t realise how bad it was until these past few months where so many people have failed tests. It’s scary.

“I’m making sure we have Olympic-style drug testing for my next fight, 100%.”